Rioters threw what appeared to be a large firework into a line of police at the CNN building in Atlanta where they have been causing destruction throughout Friday evening and into Saturday.

The shocking scene aired live on CNN.

.@CNNValencia and crew take cover after an explosion takes place in the space between protesters and police at the CNN Center in Atlanta. https://t.co/mHZFrcOZj7 pic.twitter.com/HLPzyoKgn9

— CNN (@CNN) May 30, 2020

Earlier in the day, people had climbed on to the network’s sign and vandalized it before smashing the glass at the entrance of the building.

Glass getting broken outside the main entrance to CNN's Atlanta headquarters; protesters cheer pic.twitter.com/EToiEj5Pom

— Fernando Alfonso III (@fernalfonso) May 29, 2020

CNN correspondent Nick Valencia was nearby when the explosion happened.

“I have a daughter and wife I want to get home to tonight,” Valencia told anchor Chris Cuomo.

A police car was also set on fire nearby.

BIG escalation in Atlanta:

A police car has been set on fire amid #GeorgeFloyd protests pic.twitter.com/4DxL6rK4pY

— Blayne Alexander (@ReporterBlayne) May 30, 2020

Ironically, before being targeted, CNN had been downplaying the brutally violent riots sweeping the nation as “mostly peaceful protests.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has said that these are not protests, but “chaos.”

“What I see happening on the streets of Atlanta is not Atlanta. This is not a protest. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. This is chaos,” Lance Bottoms said at a news conference.

“A protest has purpose. When Dr. King was assassinated, we didn’t do this to our city,” she said. “If you want change in America, go and register to vote. … That is the change we need in this country.”

Violent riots have been sweeping cities across America for several days following the death of black man in Minneapolis Police custody on Monday.

Lance Bottoms also defended CNN, bringing up a reporter who was arrested earlier in the day.

“There was a black reporter who was arrested on camera this morning, who works for CNN. They are telling our stories, and you are disgracing their building,” she said. “We are no longer talking about the murder of an innocent man. We’re talking about how you’re burning police cars on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia.”

A German official has invited Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to move his company there following President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at protecting free speech on social media.

Germany, of course, is not exactly known for their respect for free speech, as they ban anything “capable of inciting popular hatred.” It actually sounds like a perfect match for a platform that arbitrarily bans accounts for edgy banter.

Thomas Jarzombek of Germany’s Economic Affairs Ministry tweeted on Thursday, “Hey @Twitter & @jack, this is an invitation to move to Germany! Here you are free to criticize the government as well as to fight fake news. We have a great startup and tech ecosystem, your company would be a perfect fit and I will open any doors for you!”

Hey @Twitter & @jack, this is an invitation to move to Germany! Here you are free to criticize the government as well as to fight fake news. We have a great startup and tech ecosystem, your company would be a perfect fit and I will open any doors for you! @realDonaldTrump

— Thomas Jarzombek (@tj_tweets) May 28, 2020

He also tagged President Trump in the tweet in an attempt to make sure that his dig would be noticed.

Earlier in the day, President Trump signed an executive order that aims to increase government regulation of the “new public square” by challenging their Section 230 protection from being held liable for content posted by users

Under Section 230, platforms that are not publishers cannot be held liable for most posts by users on their sites. By censoring certain opinions, the platform has crossed the line into acting as a publisher with an editorial line, which is not protected.

“Trump’s directive now could set the stage for federal regulators to write new rules and issue new punishments for companies deemed to exhibit political bias,” the Washington Post explained.

The order also established a council to probe allegations of censorship of users based on their political views and asked the Federal Trade Commission to probe whether or not content-moderation is falling in line with their pledges of neutrality to users.

“In a country that has long cherished the freedom of expression, we cannot allow a limited number of online platforms to hand pick the speech that Americans may access and convey on the internet.  This practice is fundamentally un-American and anti-democratic.  When large, powerful social media companies censor opinions with which they disagree, they exercise a dangerous power.  They cease functioning as passive bulletin boards, and ought to be viewed and treated as content creators,” the order read.

“The growth of online platforms in recent years raises important questions about applying the ideals of the First Amendment to modern communications technology.  Today, many Americans follow the news, stay in touch with friends and family, and share their views on current events through social media and other online platforms.  As a result, these platforms function in many ways as a 21st century equivalent of the public square.”